The New Testament A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings
2nd ed.
by Bart D. Ehrman
Oxford University Press, 1996
496 pages
ISBN 0-09-512639-4

Bart Ehrman's New Testament textbook is an excellent in-depth introduction to the canon of Christianity. Clearly written and incorporating the latest research, this textbook would be very appropriate for advanced junior and senior students in a New Testament course. For teachers who would like an informed and clear introduction to New Testament Studies, Ehrman's text would be an excellent choice.

The first chapter is devoted to answering many of the most basic questions that students bring to a study of the New Testament. Ehrman deals with simple definitions: "What is the New Testament?," the difference between the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, the notions of the canon, common era and before the common era, the structure and lay out of the New Testament, and a final reflection on the differences between the historian and the believer.

Once he has established this most basic of contexts, Dr. Ehrman moves on to look at the historical milieu in which Christianity was born. He spends a great deal of time informing us about the larger definitions of pagan and gentile, and of the common religious motifs that were central to the Greco-Roman world. He amply illustrates through maps, archeological finds, and diagrams the concepts that he is trying to explain. Every chapter has several "Some More Information"and "Something to Think About" sections that I found to be highly relevant and natural points for leading into fruitful classroom discussion. Each chapter is followed by an annotated "Suggestions for Further Reading"section. This thoughtful bibliographic service is a natural starting point for student research papers.

Ehrman moves onto a study of the Gospels. What is so exciting about his approach is that he explains the different types of historical/critical methodologies that are currently being used by the majority of New Testament scholars, and then he goes on to illustrate these different methodologies by applying a different one to each of the Gospel texts. For Mark he explains and demonstrates a literary-historical approach, for Matthew redaction, for Luke the comparative method, thematic for Acts, and all four previous methods and socio-historical for John. Ehrman then moves in the next chapters to a discussion of other gospels in early Christianity, the "sayings" and "infancy gospels," the quest for the historical Jesus, and apocalyptic eschatology.

The sections on Paul and the Pauline literatures start with an attempt to reconstruct a biography of Paul and ends with Paul's conversion and its implications. The next six chapters are devoted to a study of the Pauline material, its theological and historical contexts, and the controversial questions about Paul's attitude towards women. The final chapters of the book are devoted to the early organization of the Church, the beginnings of martyrdom, and the apocalyptic literatures of Peter and John.

The world of textbooks is often one of dry, dead language. Both students and teachers lose interest. Dr. Ehrman's text is an exciting antidote to that problem and informative journey through the often complicated world of the New Testament.

review © 1999 Tom Collins and RSiSS

Return to Christianity resources